Hi folks. If you list and sell Short Sales, as I do, then you know there is nothing worse than going through a 4 month Short Sale Approval process only to find out the Buyer has walked from the transaction. It wastes a lot of time and it places our Sellers one step closer to being foreclosed on. So as a Short Sale Listing Agent what can we do?
Here are a few things I highly recommend:
- Take a large non-refundable deposit.
- Make sure the buyer and their agent are fully aware of the process.
- Negotiate enough time in the contract to get the short sale approved. We use a 90 to 120 days short sale contingency.
- Be sure the Buyer is fully qualified or has cash ready to close within 30 days of Short Sale approval.
- Have the inspections done early in the process.
And most importantly, send out updates at least once a week through out the process. I use a personalized email that the Buyer's agent can just forward to their Buyer. If you take these measures your Buyers will stick around more often than not.
Below is a sample of my email update. Notice how I remind them of the time frame for approval and how far along we are in the process. The Buyer's agents love these emails as it helps them to keep their Buyers informed. I mean let's face it...they too do not want to have to go out and sell their Buyer another property. It's better to just work together and get this one closed. I hope this helps.
Hi Joe,
c.c. Mr Seller
c.c. Mr Seller
I hope you are well.
I have been in communications with the negotiator and things are going well.We've submitted a request to Fannie Mae to waive the 30 day late rule on this file. We haven't heard back yet but hope to early next week. If for some reason the request is denied the negotiator will issue the approval on July 1 when this requirement is met. So worse case scenario we should have the approval in 28 days.
Please be sure to pass these updates on the buyer. I want to make sure they stay motivated and excited about this purchase so once we receive the approval they are ready to move forward. Also, let the mortgage broker know we are getting close in case they need to update some docs. Time will be of the essence once the approval is received.
We are now 43 days into a 90 day short sale contingency. All is well.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thanks
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